The Common Item
BREAK THE BANKSY
An essay written for a MKTG3023 assessment item
Personal or human brands. Selecting any non-American brand, discuss one personal or human brand that you believe is the epitome of a good brand story and why? What is their biggest threat to their story and why?
Rage, the Flower Thrower (2005)
Banksy became a household name after infiltrating art and popular culture over the past three decades, rising to unprecedented fame in the early 2000s. Beginning as a free-hand English graffiti artist, Banksy now enjoys international recognition for his distinguished stencil graffiti, guerrilla-style public stunts, and disruptive social commentary (Mancoff, 2018).
Banksy’s rise to infamy is a carefully crafted brand story, founded in his creative and distinctive acts of rebellion against authority. The result has been international notoriety and wide scale brand resonance. But as the brand matures many have accused the artist of ‘selling out’. This is the story of Banksy.
The Story
Built upon an essential brand archetype, the Banksy persona is portrayed as the rebel, whose objective is to stand up against authority, disrupting the social order and status quo (Herskovitz & Crystal, 2010). This heroic narrative reminiscent of an anarchical yet grounded modern Robin Hood is all too familiar – because there really are no new stories – only instead of a bow and arrow he wields a can of spray paint.
To reach his audience Banksy combines rebellious and criminal acts of vandalism with potent socio-political commentary that is easy to understand. Because of this you don’t have to like graffiti or even art to appreciate a Banksy piece, in fact Banksy openly criticises the ‘bourgeois’ of the art world (Ellsworth-Jones, 2013). This makes his work more accessible and relatable for the general populous.
An iconic example is Banksy’s collection of works in 2005 on the Israel-Palestine wall (See Figures 2-3), drawing attention to and sparking discussion about the conflict in the region (Ellsworth-Jones, 2013). This approach has resonated with many, creating an emotional response in those of us who see problems in the world but don’t believe we can do anything about it.
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Balloon Debate (2005)
Unwelcome Intervention (2005)
The Impact
Banksy fixation has captured the world for years, manifesting itself it different ways. Some consumers pay millions for a piece of Banksy, but many more have invested time and energy, and travelling great distances to participate in his experiential exhibitions. This includes Banksy’s 2013 New York residency, which saw thousands following his every move over 31 days, waiting to see what he would do next (The Guardian, 2013).
This is a great example of active engagement and is the highest form of resonance according to Keller’s brand equity model (Keller, 2012). The hype and experience of Banksy created a sense of community through exposure to his work, enabling its impact to extend far beyond its initial consumption.
The Brand
Through some very impressive marketing, Banksy transformed himself into a one-man brand, making the traditionally public eye-sore of vandalism into highly valued art. This was evident in a 2013 stunt by the street-artist, in which he sold his works anonymously on the street for $60, with very little takers. Once it was revealed these pieces were Banksys, the value increased dramatically with some estimated to fetch up to $850,000 upon resale (Kennedy, 2014). This is a quintessential example of how powerful brand value can be.
One way to interpret why the Banksy brand holds so much power is through the five dimensions of brand personality, with an emphasis on sincerity. Arguably one of the most of important components of Banksy’s brand is his implicit authenticity, and over time this has been fostered through the consistent brand story of the rogue activist. While Banksy continues to innovate, the persona behind the brand must remain consistent in order to maintain trust and relationships formed with consumers (Herskovitz & Crystal, 2010).
The Sell Out?
Over the last three decades, Banksy has carefully cultivated a story of a small town graffiti artist who is anti-establishment, anti-capitalist, and even anti-art. But in recent years he has faced mounting criticism and has been accused of selling out.
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A prime example is last year’s art auction stunt in which Banksy remotely shredded an original balloon girl piece right after it had sold for over $1 million (Dieckvoss, 2018). While many applauded the classic Banksy move, others pointed out that the stunt had potentially doubled the painting’s worth, and that Banksy would receive the proceeds anyway as it was a direct auction from him (McMahon, 2018). This directly contradicts previous Banksy commentary through his work, shunning capitalism (See Figure 4).
Ronald McDonald (2013)
Another point of criticism has been Banksy’s recent moves to enforce copyright of his brand, including a successful legal venture against an Italian museum over selling merchandise using his work (Bonadio, 2019). This seems like a very normal thing for any business to do, however Banksy wrote in his 2006 book Wall and Piece that copyright is for losers (Banksy, 2006) – which has caused many to question, do we really know what Banksy stands for?
Despite the haters, Banksy remains arguably one of the most successful and influential personal brands of our generation. At this point in time the biggest threat to his brand is the challenge to Banksy’s authenticity. Should Banksy become, in the eyes of the public, a part of the capitalist art world which he claims to loathe – then we might see the fall of the man behind the brand once and for all.
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"You either die a hero,
or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
– The Dark Knight (2008)
Police arrest Batman, Banksy imitation (Unknown)
References
Banksy, 2006. Wall and Piece. s.l.:Century.
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Bonadio, E., 2019. The fascinating legal conundrum facing Banksy. [Online]
Available at: https://www.fastcompany.com/90313552/the-fascinating-legal-conundrum-facing-banksy
[Accessed 24 March 2019].
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Dieckvoss, S., 2018. Banksy: I was in the room when his painting shredded – and enhanced his brand. [Online]
Available at: https://theconversation.com/banksy-i-was-in-the-room-when-his-painting-shredded-and-enhanced-his-brand-104660
[Accessed 24 March 2019].
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Ellsworth-Jones, W., 2013. The Story of Banksy. [Online]
Available at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-story-behind-banksy-4310304/
[Accessed 24 March 2019].
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Herskovitz, S. & Crystal, M., 2010. The essential brand persona: storytelling and branding. Journal of Business Strategy, 31(3), pp. 21-28.
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Keller, K. L., 2012. Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity. 4th ed. s.l.:Pearson Higher Ed USA.
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Kennedy, M., 2014. Banksy street stall prints, sold for $60, set to make small fortune at Bonham's. [Online]
Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/jun/12/banskey-prints-new-york-stall-fortune-bonhams
[Accessed 24 March 2019].
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Mancoff, D. N., 2018. Banksy. [Online]
Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Banksy
[Accessed 24 March 2019].
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McMahon, A., 2018. Why Banksy's Girl With Balloon painting could be worth more shredded than intact. [Online]
Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-07/why-banksys-artwork-could-be-worth-more-shredded-than-intact/10348210
[Accessed 24 March 2019].
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The Guardian, 2013. Banksy in New York: Better Out Than In. [Online]
Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2013/oct/20/banksy-new-york-better-out-than-in
[Accessed 24 March 2019].